![]() In contrast, radiocollared females in Okefenokee expanded their home ranges during years of poor black gum production. The mean annual home-range size for Osceola females (x = 30.3 km 2 ± 4.0, n = 53) varied little seasonally or annually and was almost half that of Okefenokee females (55.9 km 2 ± 6.9, n = 69 Z = −2.47, P = 0.014). Adult bears in Osceola were 29% heavier than those in Okefenokee ( t 82 = 3.55, P < 0.001). Corn from deer feeders was not available in Okefenokee. In Osceola, corn from white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) feeders was the most stable food source but saw palmetto was heavily used when available. In Okefenokee, black gum ( Nyssa sylvatica) and saw palmetto ( Serenoa repens) fruits were the most important foods for bears based on scat analysis. We obtained 13,573 radiolocations from 87 (16M:71F) individual bears during the study. We captured 205 different black bears (124M:81F) 345 times from June 1995 to September 1998. Bears in Okefenokee were hunted and those in Osceola were not. ![]() We studied Florida black bears in 2 areas in the Okefenokee-Osceola ecosystem in southeast Georgia (i.e., Okefenokee) and north Florida (i.e., Osceola) from 1995 to 1999 to evaluate relationships between population characteristics, habitat conditions, and human activities. Abstract: The population status of the Florida black bear ( Ursus americanus floridanus) is problematic within many portions of its range and its potential listing as a federally threatened species has been the subject of legal debate. ![]()
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